The Northern Water Tribe Princess
by StefiFachiol
Summary: Yue is able to stop Zhao from killing the moon spirit. Fanfic about what I think Avatar with Yue in it would be like. Yue/Sokka.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic, so tips on how to improve would be appreciated!

Chapter One- Sacrifice

In the spirit oasis, everyone was tense as Zhao held the moonspirit over his hand, preparing to incenerate it. "Anything you do to that spirit, I'll release on you tenfold!" Iroh yelled. Zhao dropped the spirit and held his hands up in surrender and defeat. "All right," he said. He turned his gaze to everyone; Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the Northern Water Tribe princess, Yue.

Then, with a savage, nearly inhuman scream, Zhao threw forward a punch, a mouth of fire erupting from it, ready to engulf the fish in the pond.

'I should be able to waterbend,' Yue thought, 'since I have been touched by the moon. Maybe...' But she realized that there wasn't enough time to put it out. Yue turned to Sokka. "I'm sorry," she said, then ripped out of his arms and into the line of fire. The fire engulfed her, and she collapsed.'

"You'll pay for that, Zhao!" Sokka shouted. Zhao held up his hands again. "Maybe you should care more about healing your girlfriend then getting revenge," Zhao said smugly, and smirked. He turned around and ran out of the garden.

Sokka picked up Yue's limp form. Who was the best healer in the Northern Water Tribe? He didn't care. Any healer that could help Yue would be his favorite. Tears streaking his cheeks, Sokka ran into the city.

"Will the burns heal?" Sokka asked the healer, his voice expressing the worry inside him. "The burns will heal, and her chakras are clear, but..." the healer began. "But what?" Sokka asked. "And what are chakras anyway?" The healer sighed. "Chakras are pools of spiritual energy in the body. They're perfectly clear, but...  
there isn't much energy to flow. It's like half her life force simply disappeared- vanished, into thin air." she answered. "I don't know how I can heal Yue for this... all we can do is wait and hope Yue gets out of this herself."

Sokka cast one last look at Yue before going to talk to Chief Arnook.

Chief Arnook glared at Sokka. "You were supposed to protect her," he shot at him. "I'm sorry," Sokka answered. Chief Arnook intensified his glare and scowled. "If Yue dies," he growled, "then you and your friends will never be welcomed here again."

Sokka hung his head. "I understand," he muttered, and turned to exit when Hahn entered. "He's still here? You haven't kicked him out of the city yet?" Hahn said with anger.

Chief Arnook shook his head. "Yue isn't dead yet," he answered.

Yue's head hurt like she was hit in the head by a raging hogmonkey. She opened her eyes and was aware that she was not in the spirit oasis, or even in the Northern Water Tribe. She was in a swamp, with thick trees and vines everywhere and water covering the hem of her dress. "The spirit world," she whispered. "I didn't know I could get into it."  
She looked around, but all she could see was water and swamp vegetation. "Is anyone there?" she called out, uncertain. "Anyone? Anything?"

She was surprised when a young man dressed as a Northern warrior stepped out from behind some bushes. "Who are you?" Yue asked. The man smiled. "I am Avatar Kuruk, the last Water Tribe avatar."

"Do you know what I'm doing here?" she inquired. Avatar Kuruk nodded. "It has to do with the spirit oasis." Yue frowned. "Zhao. The flames." she said. Then a horrible thought came upon her. "Am I dead?" she asked.

Avatar Kuruk shook his head. "No, but you are close. Half your life force vanished." Yue bit her lip. "Where is it?" she said, not expecting an answer.

Avatar Kuruk looked at her, studying her closely. "Here," he answered. "It brought you to the Spirit World, and it can take you back."

"How do I get back?" Yue asked, but before Avatar Kuruk could answer, another headache spread across her scalp, and her vision went dark.

When Yue opened her eyes again, she was in her room, covered by a quilt. Her father was sleeping in a chair by the bed and Hahn was standing guard outside. "Father," she whispered. Chief Arnook lifted his head. He wasn't asleep after all. "Yue," he said, smiling.

Hahn entered the room, smiling, but it was a smile of victory, not of love or compassion. Yue shivered, but not because she was cold. "Where's Sokka?" she asked. Hahn frowned. "Your failed bodyguard? Off preparing to leave. He's not welcome anymore."

"Bring him here," Yue ordered Hahn. "All right," Hahn said, bowed, and left the room.

Sokka came in five minutes later. "It wasn't your fault," she told him. "I was the one who lept forward." Chief Arnook gasped at the confession. "Why?" he asked. "Yeah, Yue, why?" Hahn asked, not nearly as polite as her father. "To save the moon," she answered.

Sokka shifted uncomfortably. "Well, then, I'm glad you're better," he said. "Can you get up yet?"

"Haven't tried," Yue informed him, and pulled back the covers. "but I will now."

To everyone's amazement, Yue could stand and walk with no difficulty.

"Want to take a walk?" she asked Sokka. "Sure," he answered.

"I want to run away," Yue told Sokka later, away from earshot of the people, Hahn, and most importantly, her father.

"Why would you want to do that?" Sokka asked, confused. "I don't love Hahn, and... well, I get the feeling that I should be doing more to help the world then give you a place to stay for a few weeks. Besides, I've never really been comfortable here."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

"Every single part of my life is controlled by rules- even who I marry. I'm not staying to marry Hahn. He has no respect for me whatsoever, just the 'perks' I come with." Yue answered. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight," Sokka answered, wondering how the princess would use the information.

"Meet me at the bridge, then. The one that we used to meet at," Yue said. "For now, I will pretend I have not reached any conclusions or decisions."

"All right," Sokka agreed. The two parted, each aching for their midnight meeting on the bridge.

"Where's Yue?" Chief Arnook burst into Hahn's room the next morning. "She's not in the palace!" Hahn looked up from a scroll he was reading. "Not in the palace? Are you sure she isn't taking a walk? She's been doing that a lot lately." Hahn said, not in the least bit intrested.

"I talked to everyone I saw. No one has seen Yue." Hahn smiled an icy smirk as an idea popped into his head. "Maybe Sokka kidnapped her," he said, but stopped being so smug when Arnook mumbled, "No, Sokka wouldn't do that. If Yue is with them, it's because she ran away."

The realization hit Arnook like a blow. He staggered back and sat down on a chair, his legs refusing to hold him. "Why?" he whispered. "Why would she run away? What is there in the city that makes Yue so unhappy?"

Hahn stood up. "Maybe it's you," he said. "Maybe Yue ran away from you and me."

"The north pole looks spectacular from the sky!" Yue exclaimed as they flew on Appa. "Everything looks so small, like toys." Sokka smiled. Even though he had taken Yue on a flight with him before, she was still amazed at the beauty of being in the air. "That's why the air monks built their temples on the mountains," Aang said. "Not only does it give protection, but it gives a wonderful view. Not that the air temple isn't a view itself!" Everyone laughed at this remark.

"I'm worried how Dad will take this," Yue wondered. "And Hahn. Hahn will be furious."

Katara smiled. "Well, they're in the north, and we're going south. We won't have problems with them for a while!" Again, everyone laughed.

"Anyway, let's get some rest," Sokka suggested. "After all, we have a lot of traveling to do tomorrow if we want to get to that fortress. Just think, being escorted to Omashu!" Yue smiled. "What's Omashu like?" she asked.

"Well, it's big..." Sokka answered. "I got that," Yue commented. "I mean, what does it look like?"

"It's surrounded by a wall, like your tribe," Aang answered. "The earth kingdom sign is on the gates, and the king is an old friend of mine. He's really friendly, and slightly crazy. Bumi's a mad genius!" Yue smiled at how Aang described his friend. "I can't wait to meet him!"

Aang grinned. "Me too, Yue. Me too."

As the four flew into the night on Appa's back, Yue couldn't help but wonder... the vision her father had, about a young woman becoming the moon... did she stop that from happening completely, or was it still yet to come?

Yue shivered, but it wasn't from the cold, northern air.

Well, the next chapter will sum up the episode, "The Avatar State." It should be intresting with Yue there! Please review and comment. Tips on how to improve will be appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

This is my second chapter, sorry for keeping you all waiting!

Tips would be nice.

I do not own Avatar, but I wish I owned Yue.

Chapter Two: The Princess and the Avatar State

"Are you sure the guy will give us an escort?" Sokka asked Yue. "Positive," she answered. "He's never turned down anyone before."

"I can't wait to arrive!" Aang shouted estactily from the top of Appa's head. "What's his name again?" Yue smiled. "General Fong." she replied.

"There it is!" Katara screamed. Yue laughed. "It looks like Hahn's house gone wrong..." her happy comment lingered in the air, now a sour memory. "Hahn. Dad." She whispered. "How are they taking this?"

"Get Yue back!" Hahn screamed at Chief Arnook. "I want my wife!" Chief Arnook looked up from his scroll. "It's her choice," he answered. "I don't know why she would leave the Northern City, but she's sure to return eventually."

"She could be married to Sokka by then!" Hahn yelled. "If you won't go after her, I'll go myself!" Chief Arnook stood abruptly and angrily. "You shall do no such thing! I shall NOT permit you to leave the city to chase the Avatar and Yue!"

Hahn grimaced, then secretly snickered. 'I won't have to leave,' he thought. 'All I have to do is find a willing mercenary. Ah, yes. Admiral What's-his-name? oh yeah. Choi. I'm sure Admiral Choi would love to go after Yue. Now the only thing I have to do is pay him and bust him out of prison.'

When the group landed at the fort, they were immediately greeted by General Fong himself. It was obvious who had arrived; the Avatar with his arrow and flying bison, and the princess, with her snow-white hair.

"Welcome. I am General Fong," he introduced himself. "I suppose you want an escort to Omashu?"

"Yes, please." Katara answered. "Good. But first, I must talk to the Avatar. Alone." Fong replied, whisking Aang away.

"I'm following them," Yue declared. Sokka looked up from some bread he was eating. "WHAT? Why?" he asked.

"Because I want to know what's so private that Fong can't say it in front of us," Yue retorted.

"Aang will tell us," Katara said hopefully. "I have no doubt he will, but I want to hear the General's exact words," Yue said, and ran off after Fong and Aang.

It didn't take her long to find them. They were on the wall of the fort. She crouched behind some barrells as Fong was talking. "Look, Avatar. Soldiers are returning from the war." Aang looked and gasped. Yue gazed down. The soldiers all had an injury of some sort, some missing arms or legs, others pulling carts of wounded and dead men. It wasn't a sight Yue had wanted to see so soon after leaving the safety of her own walled city.

"I'm trying to stop this war," Yue heard Aang say. "I'm learning the elements as fast as I can."

General Fong turned to gaze at Aang. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I can still give you the escort to go to Omashu and learn the long way, or we can explore the Avatar State."

"The Avatar State!" Aang was surprised. "But I don't know how to enter it. I can only tap into it when I'm hurt or in danger, and I can't control myself when I'm in it." Aang informed him. General Fong laughed. "I plan that during your short stay here, we might as well just, you know, trying tapping into your powers."

"I dunno," Aang began, but faltered. His gaze fell to the soldiers still filing into the fort. "I guess we could try," he answered. "But please, don't do anything stupid."

"I promise," Fong said. "Let's get you back to your friends."

Yue ran from her hiding place to meet Sokka and Katara.

"It is a good deal, yes, a very good deal," muttered Zhao. "But how do I know you'll keep your word?" Hahn held up a bag and shook it. A clinking sound erupted from the seal-skin. "You get this now," Hahn promised, "and you'll get double that when Yue is back here."

Zhao nodded. "How will we communicate?" Zhao asked. Hahn groaned. He hadn't thought of that. "Tell you what," Zhao said, "I'll send you a pigeon. It will wait for you outside the city gates, until you arrive, regardless of when it arrives. Just send it back with your message."

Hahn smiled. "Deal," escaped from his lips. "Now to bust you out..."

Yue pretended to be totally surprised when Aang told her about General Fong's idea. "So, we're trying tomorrow, I guess." Katara stood up. "Shouldn't you learn the other elements first?" she asked.

"That's what I said, but Fong said that this way is faster."

Yue stood up too. "I need to take a walk," she said quickly. "I need some thinking time."

Yue escaped to the wall of the fortress, where she leaned against a watch tower. Her breathing came fast and in gasps. She felt sick and weak. What was going on? Her vision reeled, then went dark...

Zhao breathed the night air with great inhales. It felt great to breathe fresh air, rather than the stale, smelly air of the prison. He was on a raft, on his way to the Earth Kingdom, and on his way to his target. Hahn had left him hours ago, saying it would be suspicious for him to be gone for so long. Zhao had agreed.I

His gaze fell to the moon. "You think you've won, don't you?" Zhao whispered. "No worries. I'll get you yet, and your precious moon princess too. You can't protect all your waterbenders forever! The Water Tribe will fall, starting with the princess..."

Yue was standing in a lake. Two ginormous fish were circling each other, one black, one white. Yue knew who they were; the moon and the ocean, ying and yang, life and death.

Avatar Kuruk appeared in the middle of the fish. "Yue," he called.

"I'm right here," she answered.

"You have done something wrong," he said.

"I did?"

"The moon was supposed to succumb to Zhao's fire, and you were to give your life to it. You have stopped that from happening."

"I was supposed to die?"

"Yes."

Yue staggered back with horror. "I was supposed to DIE?"

"Yes, but you have stopped that from happening. Now..."

"Now what?"

"I don't know! I just don't know!" Avatar Kuruk yelled with frustration. "Tui will have to tell you... it was Tui that decided what was SUPPOSED to happen. It was Tui who gave you life... so you could give Tui life."

The fish disappeared, and standing in their place was a man and a woman. The woman stepped forward. "I am Tui," she introduced herself. "I am the one who pulls the tide in and out. You have broken the pattern by running in front of the fire..."

Yue frowned. "What's going to happen?"

Tui looked at La. "Two things CAN happen, but only one will. We can turn back time, La and I, by circling backwards, and you can die..."

Yue gulped. "Or?"

Tui looked unhappy. "This is La's idea. He has sympathy for you. He wants to let you live and to see what happens. If we like it, you can live. If you goof things up, we will do MY decision."

"Which one are we doing?" Yue asked, fearing the answer.

"We will let you live," Tui answered, "but only if your actions please us."

"One thing," Yue began, "the vision my father had... of a young woman becoming the moon, is it yet to come or is it evaded?"

"That depends," Tui answered.

"On who's decision?"

"On you."

The Moon, the ocean, the Avatar, and the lake disappeared, and Yue was back to leaning on the wall. "That was wierd," she said, but that was an understatement. That was the decision of her life.

The next day, everyone in the group had breakfast... but Aang. "General Fong wants you to be... er, ready to feed off of spiritual energy," the servant who brought up breakfast told Aang. "Sorry, kiddo."

After the food disappeared, the group was whisked into the temple of the fortress. A table set for two was in sitting in the pavilion at the top of the temple. "Who's this for?" Aang asked Fong, who had joined them by that time.

"You. Tea is known to calm and to help meditate, and raise the chi. Take a few sips. See what happens." A half-hour later, Aang had downed five cups and was feeling rather bloated. "Uh, I don't think tea is going to do it," Aang whispered. "All right," Fong said. "Then into the temple areas we go."

Deep in the temple, an old priest held up a bowl. "We shall combine the four elements," he said. "Perhaps that will trigger the Avatar State."

"Water," the priest said, and poured water into the bowl from a pitcher. "Earth," he mumbled, and threw in a handful of dirt, "Fire," he declared, and dropped a torch in. "Air," he proclaimed, and pumped some air into the bowl from what looked like a mini version of a blacksmith's bellows.

He held up the bowl proudly. "The elements combined!" He shouted. Before Aang could ask what the bowl would do, the priest, without warning, chucked the bowl's contents at Aang.

"Feeling anything?" the priest asked. "Nothing. It's just mud," Aang replied, wiping his face with his arm, which didn't help either, since his arm was covered in mud too.

The rest of the day went like that, trying weird techniques to coax the Avatar into the State. By noon, Aang was about to give up. He went down to the fortress base to talk to General Fong.

"So you see," Aang finished after talking to him, "I just think that I should continue on my travels."

"I see," Fong said. "Since we can't do this the easy way, we'll just do it the hard way."

"Wait. What?" Aang was confused.

"Men," General Fong commanded, "attack the Avatar!"

Yue heard strange crashing sounds coming from outside. "I should find Sokka," she whispered, and started to run. She bumped into him and Katara just outside their room. "What's going on?" she yelled. The sounds were so loud they could barely hear each other.

"General Fong's gone crazy and he's attacking Aang!" Sokka replied. The three ran outside.

Sokka tried to take out a few soldiers with his boomerang and Katara tried stopping some with her whip. Yue stayed by Katara, watching her moves. She would try to copy those moves later, to learn- or try to learn- how to bend.

General Fong smiled, turned his head, and saw the two girls. "All right Avatar," he called out. "Maybe you can avoid me, but she can't!"

Fong twisted his arm, and Katara's ankles sunk into the ground. "I can't move!" she cried. Yue put her hands around her waist and pulled. Katara wouldn't move.

Fong twisted his hand, and this time Yue sunk with Katara, both up to their waists in earth. "This is bad," Yue said.

"Aang, do something!" Katara yelled.

"If you want to save them, then get in the State!"

Fong twisted again, and the two's heads were the only things poking out of the ground. "Aang, help!" Yue cried.

"You have to stop," Aang pleaded. "You could save them if you were in the Avatar State," Fong replied. "I'm trying," Aang begged. "I don't see glowing," Fong said, and clenched his hand. Aang jumped to the place where the two sunk into the ground, but it was too late. They were gone.

Aang's tattoos glowed a brillant white. "It worked!" Fong cried with victory.

Aang's white eyes fixed themselves on him. "Uh oh," Fong realized.

Aang rose into the air and began doing some serious damage to the fort. "Wait, Avatar! It was only a trick!" General Fong raised his arm and the two girls emerged from the ground, gasping. But Aang didn't hear. He was oblivious to the rest of the world, secluded and blocked off from everyone.

Yue gasped. Something was rising out of Aang- his spirit! She saw his spirit go onto a dragon with Avatar Roku. She looked at Katara. She didn't seem to have seen anything. Yue turned back to where the dragon had been- but it was gone.

Seconds passed, and then the dragon returned and so did Aang's spirit. Katara moved in to comfort him and slowly, she coaxed him out of the Avatar State.

"See, Avatar! It worked! Now just imagine if you were doing this to a squadron of fire nation sold- ohhhh." General Fong fell unconcious after Sokka hit him in the head with his club. "That's what we do to crazed generals," Sokka said.

"Do you still want that escort to Omashu?" A soldier asked.

"I think we can manage," Aang replied.

Yue stopped by the soldier. "One more thing," she whispered. "It would be a good idea NOT to tell my father that we came this way," she advised. "Secret from Arnook? All right, I won't tell him, but if he asks, he's going to get an answer." the soldier replied. "Deal," Yue said, and climbed on Appa.

"Appa, yip-yip!" Aang said, and the group was off.

Zhao watched as Appa soared in one direction, and a pigeon in the opposite. It had a message tied to its tail. A very simple message.

SHE WENT TO FONG'S FORTRESS.

There you have it! The next chapter! Sorry if it wasn't too close to the episode. I haven't watched these in a while and I'm going by memory. The next chapter will be summing up the Cave of Two Lovers. Sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I said that I would change some plot holes, but I decided I'll leave the story as it is. If you have any suggestions, please give them in the form of a FRIENDLY review.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plots. I wish I did.

Chapter Three: The Cave of Two Lovers

Yue jumped into the cool stream from a rock. She surfaced and lay on her back, staring at the blue sky, thinking the day was just perfect. No run-ins with Firenation soldiers. No crazy generals trying to pressure Aang into going too far. No Hahn. She smiled when she thought of the last one. No Hahn. That truly would make everything perfect.  
As she floated, Yue wondered why her father wanted her to marry Hahn in the first place. It was obvious that he was arrogant and couldn't care less about her. So why had her father chosen him? She didn't have time to ponder over her father's decision. A group of nomads lumbered into the pool. Unseen by the gang, they took everyone totally by surprise when they shouted, "River people!"  
Yue shrieked with surprise and sank into the water. She resurfaced, coughing, glaring at the group. "We're not river people," Aang said. "Then what are you?" asked the man. "Just... people." Aang answered.  
That's really deep and thoughtful, thought Yue, a smile coming back to her face. She took her hair and wrung it, trying to squeeze some of the water out. One of the girl nomads stared at her white hair. It was unnerving. Yue flashed a quick grin at her before going behind Appa to hide, pretending to search the packs for something.  
"We're nomads," said the man, who Yue began to suspect was the leader of the band. "That's great!" Aang said, then brought his hand to his chest. "I'm a nomad too!"  
"Guess what?" the leader said. "I'm a nomad too!"  
"We know," Yue said impatiently, coming out from behind Appa. "You just said that."  
Deciding to change the subject from nomads, one of the women introduced their band. Yue couldn't catch their names. Maybe it was because she was trying to inch closer to Sokka without Katara noticing. Katara was edgy today, and would probably tease Yue in front of everyone for going near her "boyfriend."  
Maybe Sokka was her boyfriend. At that moment Yue didn't care. These nomads made her uneasy. And why? Because one was staring at her hair? Palace life had made her too sensitive, she realized. No one would stare at her at the North Pole. She had to get used to being different.  
"Where are you heading?" asked a squat, fat nomad. "To Omashu," answered Katara.  
"Omashu! Do you know that there's a shortcut through a valley with a big rainbow over it on the way there?" he answered.  
"Really?" answered Yue. She suddenly had more interest. She had seldom seen a rainbow and thought they were very pretty; she really wanted to see this one. Hello, it was big!  
"No rainbows!" Sokka exclaimed before the nomad could tell her more about the rainbow. "We really have to get going!" He was anxious to get going. "There is the Cave of Two Lovers," said the youngest girl. She didn't seem to be older than Yue. Maybe she was younger. Yue couldn't tell. How little did she know about people?  
"Cave of Two Lovers?" scoffed Sokka. "Sounds like a myth."  
"Oh, but it is!" answered the leader. "Better yet, it's even a song!"  
He took out his banjo and began to strum it, singing,

"Two lovers,  
Forbidden from one another,  
A war divides their people,  
And a mountain divides them apart."

The squat nomad joined in with his drum as the older women (the leader's wife) started playing her flute. The youngest, the girl, just started dancing.

"Built a path to be together..."

The leader stopped. "I forget the next few lines, but then it goes,

"Secret tunnel, secret tunnel!  
Through the mountain!  
Secret, secret, secret tunnelll! Yeah!"

Yue raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget about the curse," reminded the wife. "Curse?" Yue echoed.  
"Yes, the curse. Legend says that anyone who doesn't follow love gets lost forever inside the cave."  
Yue burst out laughing. "I'm sorry," she said, regaining herself, "but we'd rather take chances with the Fire Nation."  
Yue regretted saying she would take chances with the Fire Nation. By the time the gang caught up with the monks, they were all covered head to toe with soot and ash. "Lover Cave, let's go." Sokka said grumpily. Yue could tell he wasn't more thrilled than he was.

The Cave of Two Lovers was cut right into the mountainside. A plaque above it stated the curse.  
"Wait!" the leader cried. "I just remembered the last of that song!" He strode up to the tunnel entrance, struck a single chord, and in a deep voice sang, "And die!"  
It did not improve Yue's mood at all.  
"Hey, look, someone's building a big campfire!" the drummer nomad called out, pointing to a thick column of smoke rising from behind the trees. "That's not a campfire," Yue said.  
"Everyone, into the cave!" Sokka asked. Just in time, too. A big fireball crashed next to them.

The captain saw them enter. "Halt!" he said. "Don't you know the song? Trap them instead." he ordered when he saw that his troops were ready to enter the cave. Chains erupted from their vechicles, and buried themselves into the upper lip of the cave. Then, with a great mighty tug, the chains broke free- along with an avalanche of rocks. "They won't be getting out anytime soon," the captain assured his troops. "Move out!"

Inside the cave, Yue was going nuts trying to figure out what in the world the curse meant by "trusting in love." Had she ever trusted in love? She had been raised to believe that relationships didn't need love. She loved people... she loved her father, she had loved her mother before she had died. Yue couldn't remember the day her mother had died that well. All she remembered were fish... circling each other, in a great circle. Tui and La. Ying and Yang. Life and Death. Had the moon and ocean erased her memory?  
Yue shook her head. She was just worried, that was all. No way the two who saved her would take a part of her away. Maybe she needed some fresh air. She turned towards the cave entrance, only to find everyone already crowded around it, lighting torches. Sokka was arguing with the leader about how many they should light at a time. When had the cave entrance collasped? Had she been so busy thinking that she hadn't heard or seen it? She had already spaced out at General Fong's fort. Now she was doing it here? This had to stop!  
Yue walked over to Sokka. She stood by him as Sokka suggested taking some random passageways while he drew a map. "That should give us a pretty good idea of what the labryinth is shaped like."  
"What about trusting in love?" asked the wife.  
"No love now! Just logic!"  
A half-hour later, they were back in the same spot. "See where your logic led us?" the leader asked Sokka. "Another dead end!"  
"No," said Yue. "It's the entrance! We've been going in circles?"  
Sokka groaned. "How is that possible?" he asked. "I drew my map right here-" he stopped short as he looked at it. "Well, maybe it is possible, if..." Yue knew what the "if" was, but she didn't want to say it. Neither did Sokka. A silent, cold, dreadful minute that seemed like an eternity passed before Yue finally said, "The walls are moving."  
"It's the curse!" the leader shouted. At the mention of the curse, Appa- who didn't feel comfortable underground in the first place- grew agitated and started thrashing about. The next thing Yue knew, the ceiling had collasped, seperating Appa, Sokka, herself, and the nomads from Katara and Aang.  
"See? Curse." the youngest said. She was not improving Yue's mood at all.  
Sokka tried to dig past the wall. He didn't like the nomads any more than Yue did, but even a half-wit could see there was no hope. They would have to meet outside the wall. She only hoped Katara had a torch, and that they would meet on the other side.  
"We should follow the instructions and trust in love," the wife muttered. "How are we going to do that?" Sokka asked skeptically. The leader burst into smile. "By singing a love song!" he replied cheerfully.  
"I shoulda seen that coming," Yue muttered to herself. The leader strummed his banjo and started singing a song about how Sokka had no love in his life. Yue smiled in amusement. SHE was the love in Sokka's life. Some lover the leader was if he couldn't see that.  
They walked around a bit, composing new songs, sometimes talking about their pasts. Yue kept silent about that; she didn't really want to talk about it at the moment. The torchlight reflected off the ceiling of the caverns, and Yue for a second imagined just falling into that light... falling and never stopping, just falling through space, falling...  
"Yue!" Sokka cried. "Huh?" she said, confused. "Oh, Sokka. Is something wrong?" Sokka frowned. "You were staring at the ceiling, like in some sort of trance." Yue assured him that nothing was wrong, but something was wrong. Why did she keep spacing out? It was almost as if...  
A rumbling sound erupted and the wall next to Yue burst open. She screamed as she saw a huge badger mole- no, make that two huge badger moles- surrounding her. The only thing close by was the banjo the leader had dropped as he ran. She grabbed it. Just as the moles made a swipe at her body, her hand fell down the strings, playing an off-key chord.  
The moles stopped. They stared at the banjo, curious. "They like music!" the wife shouted. "Play a song!" Yue racked her mind for a song. She had learned to play a lute, and she hoped that the notes were close to the ones of a banjo. "Here goes," she whispered, strumming a traditional water tribe song and singing the words,

" A dream is like a lily-white,  
"Clear and free of all despite,  
"flowing from it sweet nectar "To teach the soul of a balance, a pattern,  
"Ying and yang, light and dark, day and night,  
"Life and death.  
"The ocean tides ebb as the moon's pull fades,  
"Controlling the push and pull of the waves.  
"As moon and ocean intertwine,  
"Forward, goes the stream of time,  
"Pulling me as I go along.  
"Slowly slowly I forget "Of any past worries "Slowly slowly I forget "Of anything not worth knowing.  
"The earth is opposite of air, "Water the opposite of fire,  
"Together intertwining, combating the despair of the mire,  
"As life is breathed into infant born new,  
"And saps out of the one that has for long walked along this earth.  
"For you can hear, calling to you, voices, telling you,  
"For as long as the earth lasts, there will be "Night and Day, Darkness and Light,  
"Cold and Heat, Winter and Summer,  
"Life and Death."

She stopped strumming, seeing that he moles were appeased, and the song was over anyway. The lines about forgetting bothered her. She had forgotten so much of her life; her mother's face, how she died, why she was supposed to marry Hahn, why she couldn't bend even though she had the moon in her... she shook her head. You're being stupid, she chided herself. You were young, that's it. Or you hit your head. Nothing suspicious is going on. Nothing at all.  
The moles were staring at her, and for a moment, she thought that she was sinking into the black pools of their pupils and entering their minds. And they told her what to do. They told her why the tunnels were changing. And they told her that they felt sorry for her. Sorry for forgetting. Sorry for her past. Sorry that the song was making her uncomfortable. Sorry that she had to go through such troubles.  
She grabbed hold of a mole's fur, and it nodded, urging her to go on. She climbed onto its great back while Sokka and the nomads watched, awestruck. "Sokka, get on the second one," she told him. Her boyfriend walked tentatively and whispered, "Nice mole-thing. Please don't hurt me." Yue laughed and told Sokka everything was OK.  
The moles, with their riders, went on through the caverns. When they came to a dead end, a flick of a paw or a swipe of a tail cleared the area and let them go on. After a few minutes, the last wall of rock was bended away and Yue squinted as light flooded towards her. Aang and Katara were already there. Yue jumped off the mole and ran to hug them. As they said their goodbyes to the nomads, and thanked them for telling them of the cave- even though only Aang and Katara were truly grateful- the leader whispered to Yue, "Hey, I think that kid is the Avatar." Yue groaned. These people obviously weren't that open to clues.  
"There's Omashu," Aang pointed, then dropped his hand. "Oh, no." Yue breathed. On Omashu's gates, covering the Earth Kingdom symbol, was a tapestry with the Fire Nation emblem. "We have to go," Aang said. "We have to make sure Bumi's OK."  
Yue had no clue who Bumi was, but she could sense that he was important to Aang. She nodded grimly. She was terrified of entering the city, for two reasons: she did not want to enter an enemy stronghold, and she was afraid of what else might make her doubt all that she had believed in, her entire life.

Zhao smiled as he watched the princess stare at the city. "In the city, Princess," he whispered. "You'll see me in the city."

THE END! Thanks for reading this! Please review and give me some tips. The song is a poem I made up myself, if you were wondering. Next chapter should sum up the episode, "Return to Omashu." I'll update it as soon as I can, and sorry for taking so long to write this chapter; I had things get in the way. Until next time! 


	4. An Apology To Readers

Hey guys sorry for not updating. From now on, I'll update a new chapter every Sunday starting tomorrow- it's really late and I gotta go to bed today. Anyway, I've been really busy for the past few months so I didn't get to write that much, but that won't happen anymore. Cheers!  



	5. Chapter Four Part 1

Chapter Four- Return to Omashu

They gazed in horror at the Fire Nation banner draped over Omashu's walls.

"You're kidding me," Aang gasped. "Impossible."

Yue couldn't find the right words to say. She didn't know how to comfort him. Omashu was supposed to be unpenetrable; how had this happened?

"We have to see if Bumi's okay," Aang said, a determined look settling over his face. Yue sighed.

"Are you sure entering the city right now is a good idea?" Katara asked. "There's no way we can just waltz in there and ask the Fire Nation if they'll open the gates for us."

Aang grinned mischievously. Sokka groaned. When Aang grinned like that, it meant trouble. "We don't need to ask the Fire Nation," Aang announced. "I've got a plan."

Sokka plugged his nose and uttered a low moan. "Eeww... a SEWAGE PIPE? Couldn't you just ask the Fire Nation?"

"I don't think they'll let us in no matter how polite we are," Yue replied. "It's not that gross. It's only mysterious brown stuff on the floor and mysterious green stuff on the walls and mysterious purple stuff on the ceiling and a mysterious smell..."

"Thank you for that brief summary of the pipe," Katara said sarcastily. "It's disgusting; you can't hide that. The only question is who goes in first."

Aang leaped in before anyone could volunteer. "That solves that," Sokka muttered.

"I'm next!" Yue shouted. No matter what danger was ahead, no matter how scared she was, she couldn't run and hide like she had for sixteen years of her life in the Northern Water Tribe.

She was going to face whatever was ahead with dignity and honor, the way her father faced every challenge.

Her father... a wave of homesickness hit her as she thought of him. She wondered if he was worried about her, and how Hahn was reacting. She grinned as an image of Hahn tearing out his

hair looking for her entered her mind. "Pompous pig," she whispered and nearly giggled.

A slip brought Yue to the present as she almost crashed into Aang and into the mysterious brown stuff on the floor. As she stared at it, she began to feel slightly ill as well and tried to

supress the nausea that was threatening to overwhelm her. "Um... how close are we?" she asked Aang nervously as they resumed walking.

"Not far, I hope," Sokka mumbled. He was covered head to foot in slime whose orgin no one wanted to know about. He sounded down-right miserable. "Hopefully your memory is pretty sharp, Aang."

It wasn't. "I haven't used this pipe in a hundred years," Aang confessed. "I have no clue which manhole is the right one."

"We're lost?" Sokka screamed. Yue put her hands to her ears. Loud noises made her very uncomfortable. That included screaming.

"No!" Aang hastily corrected himself. "I mean, I think we passed the right one. It's okay. There are other options."

"Find them quickly," Sokka grumbled.

Yue and Katara laughed.

After about ten minutes, Aang found the right manhole. It was dark when they emerged from the pipe. Yue stared at her dress distastefully. "I've got stains that I'll never scrub out," she

complained.

"Excuse me?" Katara shot back. "I smell like a dead fish!"

"Sokka smells worse," Aang pointed out. They burst out laughing. Sokka glared at them.

"We find Bumi and we get out of here," Sokka reminded them. "We're not sticking our noses into Fire Nation cities. Find Bumi and leave. Not necessarily in that order."

"Stop being such a wet blanket," Katara snapped.

"Well, sorry to offend Ms. High and Mighty..."

"Guys?" Yue began nervously. "Uh, guys..."

"What?" they both yelled, turning towards her.

"Soldiers behind you."

In unison, they uttered, "Oh." Aang quickly struggled to hide his arrow.

Slowly the four turned around. Sure enough, three soldiers were plugging their noses and shooting dirty looks at them. If looks could kill, Yue thought, I'd be dead by now. But then again,

Hahn would be too. "You kiddos shouldn't be out here," the first one began.

"It's past curfew," said the second.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?" The third pointed to Sokka. The three whirled around to see him covered in red spots. "He looks sick."

"It's pentapox," Aang improvised. "Very contagious. We were on our way home after seeing the doctor."

"I've heard of that," said the first.

"Let's get home and wash our hands!" screamed the second.

"And burn our clothes!" shouted the third. Again, Yue put her hands up to her ears. Today seemed to be a day for screaming, a day when quiet words were rarely uttered. Or, at least, it felt

that way.

With another scream, the soldiers dashed away, shouting "Contagion! Contagion!"

Yue sighed with relief. "That was close," she whispered.

"No kidding."

Mai must have been the least intrested girl in everything. She didn't care about sports, schoolwork, boys, or even the fact that her father was governor of New Ozai- which used to be Omashu. The one thing she enjoyed was fireflakes, but they had recently run out, and now she was in a bad mood. "I'm so bored!" she told the air. The soldiers behind her frowned. When Mai got

bored, they were often the object of her fun.

They were in luck. Mai had glanced down from the walkway into the still streets below and saw four people running. "Hmm..." she mused, "How about some fun?"

The soldiers sighed in relief as she drew three throwing knives. "Which one should I aim for first?" she asked, a smile at the corner of her lips.

"First one!" shouted one.

"No, the white-haired girl!" said another.

"How about that girl with a boomerang and a ponytail?"

"Sounds good to me," Mai replied, took careful aim, and threw.

Sokka didn't see the knives until it was almost too late. He turned around to make a point to Katara when he saw them and shrieked. The other three whirled around and Aang was ready to

deflect them with his staff when...

... the floor gave way and they fell into blackness.


End file.
